BEIJING â€” Even as the Communist Party Congress concludes its sweeping leadership transition later this week, the question of whether the departing president, Hu Jintao, will keep his powerful post as head of the military looms as a major unresolved issue, and one of deepest intrigue.

Mr. Hu is scheduled to cede the chairmanship of the ruling party to Vice President Xi Jinping at the end of the congress. But will he cling to a position of considerable influence as the civilian military chief for two more years, and delay the ascension of Mr. Xi to that post? Or will Mr. Hu depart the scene completely?

Competing possibilities have been floated in recent days, with the preponderant view being that Mr. Hu, unlike his two predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping, will completely retire rather than stay on as the top overseer of military affairs. That would give Mr. Xi greater influence over the military and a firmer grip on power from the start.

But some insiders still suggest that Mr. Hu, who appears to have lost out to Mr. Jiang, 86, in shaping the new lineup for the top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, will nonetheless still hold on to the military post for two more years.

â€œI donâ€™t think that Hu Jintao is so full of ambition that he wants to stay on and exert control over Xi Jinping,â€ Mr. Chen said, â€œand I donâ€™t think he will have the power to do that.â€...............................

For Mr. Hu to hand the reins of the military to Mr. Xi â€œaccords with Huâ€™s and other leadersâ€™ interest in institutional progress,â€ the former official said. â€œThe former practice of waiting for a period before stepping down was a bad habit that created problems.â€

There are also conflicting notions of how the competition for influence between Mr. Hu and Mr. Jiang could affect Mr. Huâ€™s role after the congress. One supporter of Mr. Huâ€™s said Mr. Jiang, despite what appears to be his antipathy to Mr. Hu, was leaning heavily on his successor to stay on as military chairman, even though Mr. Hu did not want to.

According to this version, proffered by a prominent Chinese businessman with strong ties to Mr. Hu, Mr. Jiang was suggesting that Mr. Hu stay in the top military post so that Mr. Jiang would â€œlook good in the history books.â€

Mr. Jiang retired as party secretary in November 2002 and stepped down as state president the next March. But he remained the chief of the military until late 2004, causing undercurrents of grumbling, until Mr. Hu finally took over the commission.

Earlier, Deng Xiaoping stayed on as military chief for two more years after giving up his remaining civilian titles in 1987, a position that allowed him to order the army to crack down on demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989. But unlike Mr. Jiang or Mr. Hu, Mr. Deng had long exercised sweeping authority without holding official titles like party chief or president, so his decision to keep the military post was not as much of a conspicuous effort to retain power in retirement.

â€œHu as a person has high integrity, and he doesnâ€™t want to stay on,â€ the Hu supporter said.

Others have said Mr. Hu will stay on because he wants to......................

But a senior diplomat in Beijing said he understood that Mr. Hu would probably leave, giving Mr. Xi, who has the strong backing of Mr. Jiang, more maneuvering room to set the nationâ€™s agenda as the first among equals in Chinaâ€™s collective leadership. â€œIâ€™m hearing the Shanghai crowd has won a decisive victory,â€ the diplomat said about Mr. Jiang and his supporters. â€œAnd that includes Hu out of the C.M.C.â€ Shanghai was Mr. Jiangâ€™s power base before he ascended to the countryâ€™s top leadership posts.

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Another article that indicates the jockeying for power that besots the Communists and indicates that it is not all that 'unanimous' and 'harmonious'!

It is this type of internal politicking and jockeying for power that makes China such a beguiling can of worms.